'Mona Lisa' showcases young talent

With the United States' entry into World War II in 1941, millions of American women were called to help fill the void in the workforce left by their male counterparts who had gone off to fight in the war. After the war was over, society wanted to return these women to where they came from; back into their corsets and back into the kitchen. Wellesley College was no exception. With courses on such domestic topics as table-setting and poise, Wellesley girls could easily recite Shakespeare while pressing their husbands' shirts and transcribe their children's bedtime stories into Italian. In "Mona Lisa Smile," Berkeley, California native Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts) travels across the country to the New England school to begin the Fall of 1953 term as its new art history professor. This progressive, free-thinking, bohemian teacher has a rude awakening when she realizes that Wellesley girls are deeply embedded in the life of conformity. Co-starring is an A-list group of young actresses who are following on the heels of the "Julia Roberts generation." Wellesley students Joan Brandwyn (Julia Stiles), Giselle Levy (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and Connie Baker (Ginnifer Goodwin) are enamored with their new professor and use her as an innovative role model and mentor. Angry with the idea of thinking for herself is Betty Warren, played by Kirsten Dunst. Betty comes from a very upper-crust family and has always done what is socially acceptable. The notion of doing something as strange as having her own opinion makes Betty an adversary of Katherine's for much of the film. "Mona Lisa Smile" drips with estrogen through Roberts' "girl-power"-themed performance. One might even think that her character could've been the model for Norman Rockwell's painting of Rosie the Riveter, spewing the ideas that women can bake a cake and be a nuclear scientist too. While not a challenging role for Roberts, she pulls it off effortlessly and gives her character that typical Julia Roberts style that we've all come to know and love. And what would a Julia Roberts movie be without a love interest? Well, fear not. Dominic West plays the part of Bill Dunbar, an Italian professor at Wellesley, who, after a history of seducing the coeds, resolves to give it up in an attempt to woo Katherine Watson. All in all, the movie could easily be classified as a "chick flick". Ladies, this film should most definitely be saved for a girl's night out. Spare the boyfriends, husbands and brothers from the estrogen flowing out of this film, because they surely would rather gouge their eyes out with a rusty spoon than sit through two hours of this. Those who plan on going to this movie with hopes of being mentally stimulated, save the eight bucks and wait for the DVD. If a light-hearted, feel good movie is desired, save two dollars and go see the matinee. Grade: B-